Thanksgivukkah Pumpkin Mandelbrot

To be fair, you could also call this pumpkin biscotti. But since we are about celebrate that once in our lifetime event called Thanksgivukkah, let’s go with Pumpkin Mandelbrot.

Just in case you’re one of the three people who still have not heard of Thanksgivukkah, it is that odd little confluence of the calendars aligning in a most peculiar way and giving us a dual holiday. Hanukkah begins on Thanksgiving which means anyone who celebrates Hanukkah (and those that don’t but want to for the amazing food) will be co-mingling traditional dishes together to make the holiday a little more crazy interesting when it comes to what we eat. Think latkes with a side of turkey or a little kugel with that stuffing. This is probably the only time that fried turkey makes sense since Hanukkah is all about the oil (which somehow translates to fry everything).

But we also eat sweets. Like mandelbrot (biscotti).

Technically mandelbrot means almond bread, which this is not. But it also means twice baked cookie. And if you are a nerdy math person it probably also conjures up a thing called Fractals.

I digress. Back to the fractal you can eat. Oh, wait. The mandelbrot you can eat.

This thing is another easy recipe – just keep in mind that all mandelbrot and biscotti are pretty crumbly and are not worse off for it. Just messy-ish. Use a napkin. Or get a dog.

The trick to getting this right and minimizing the crumbles is to let the freshly baked loaf cool until it is stone-cold. Just let it sit and sit until you’ve forgotten about it. Then use a serrated knife and carefully (carefully) slice at wide enough intervals and it’ll work just fine. If the slices are too thin, it tends to be more fragile (read: crumbles more). One big fat inch is usually good. Be sure to let them get almost toasty brown the 2nd time they bake – anything less than that and they don’t age well. Also, the more they bake, the more dry they become which is the point.

Once again, let them cool forever and then store in a tin (not plastic) for best results. They will stay crisp and fresh for a very long time. They will however, shed some crumbs in the tin which always makes me wonder because the slices don’t look much smaller at all.

One bowl. One baking sheet. A little time. And a very special-special Thanksgivukkah pumpkin mandelbrot can be yours.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl blend shortening, pumpkin, brown sugar, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, cinnamon, salt and eggs together until combined. Add flour and stir until mixture is blended. Reserve 33 grams or ¼ cup of pepitas. Stir in the remaining pepitas until well blended.

Divide dough in half. Form into two logs about 2.5 inches wide by 10 inches long on the baking sheet. Place remaining pepitas on top and press lightly so they adhere. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator at least two hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake 35-40 minutes until the logs are almost golden. Cool completely and slice into 1-inch pieces. Place slices on a baking sheet standing up and turn oven temperature down to 300°F and bake 30-45 minutes more until the slices are dry and dark golden brown. Cool completely.

Notes

Canteen flour blend is 2 parts superfine brown rice flour plus 1 part each superfine white rice flour and tapioca flour by weight. See About Flour or Resources: Flour for more information.

These days, mandelbrot is exactly the same as biscotti – but it came from Eastern Europe way back in the day. As the Jews migrated they adapted the recipe to suit their new environment so while it had humble origins as a twice baked almond bread, it might have looked very different once it was produced in say, the Mediterranean where it might be twice baked and contain almonds, but it would also be filled with all kinds of dried fruits and maybe even lemon. The same, only different.